Britain’s highest court has ruled that only biological and not trans women meet the definition of a woman under equality laws, a landmark decision greeted with dismay by trans supporters but welcomed by the government as bringing clarity.
The much anticipated ruling centred on whether a trans woman with a gender recognition certificate (GRC), a formal document giving legal recognition of someone’s new gender, is protected from discrimination as a woman under Britain’s Equality Act.
Critics said that including a trans woman as a woman under the law could impinge on single-sex services for women such as refuges, hospital wards and sports. But transgender campaigners said that excluding them could lead to discrimination, especially over employment issues.
Transgender rights have become a highly political issue, with some accusations that identity politics have been weaponised by the conservative right to attack minority groups, while others argue that liberal support for transgender people has infringed on the rights of biological women.
In the United States, legal challenges are underway after President Donald Trump issued executive orders that include barring transgender people from military service.
Wednesday’s British judgment followed legal action by a campaign group, For Women Scotland (FWS), against guidance issued by the devolved Scottish government that accompanied a 2018 law designed to increase the proportion of women on public sector boards.
The guidance said a trans woman with a gender recognition certificate was legally a woman. FWS, which was backed by lesbian rights groups, had lost its case in the Scottish courts, but the Supreme Court ruled in its favour.
The Supreme Court said trans people – whether trans women or men – would not be disadvantaged by its decision as the Equality Act afforded them protection against discrimination or harassment.
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, a prominent gender-critical campaigner, was among those who welcomed the decision.
